Picked my first UA product up less than a month ago, I had been paying down on the Layaway balance for months.I would come to the store, have them pull the box out of the back, sing my preamp a song, wrote poems to it, bought it a steak. The usual infatuation and blush. Yadda yadda. Thoroughly enjoying this latest addition to my humble recording setup now, and can hardly wait to lure prospective artists to perform for it. In other words, having a blast. If you've had trouble in the past discerning the differences in your microphones, the 6176 will put all ambiguities to rest. The nuances of each mic stand out like a color for your sonic palette.

This channel strip is an absolute solution for recording vocals, el. guitars, bass, etc. In my home studio the 6176 plays a key role when it comes to input signals. In combination with some of the UAD-2 power plug-ins (Manley MP, LA2A, etc.), this channel strip provides amazing results! A definite recommendation for future users.

Without exaggeration, Universal Audio solutions like the 6176 Vintage Channel Strip make life easier :)

This Channel Strip is amazing! Its extremely versatile and sounds incredible. I was able to achieve any sound that I could think of just by tweaking the gain stage and the EQ. The EQ sounds really musical and even though the parameters are limited I couldn't ask for more during recording. What I also really like to do is use the preamp in a mixdown situation to give certain instruments (synths, samples...) that lack warmth, a little bit of life.

The 1176 style compressor sounds just like the 1176 only more transparent and a little more modern. I have used the original 1176 and I must say that I can't say which version I like better (6176 or 1176).

Overall I have to say that this is the most impressive Unit that I have come across. I have tried a lot of preamps and channelstrips (Neve, SSL, Mindprint...) and eventhough Neve and SSL sound amazing the 6176 is a perfect combination of great sound and high usability. It will always have a spot in my rack!

The 610 is a huge sounding pre. If not driven hard it is clean and sparkly, but crank it and it is easily pushed into a musical distortion.
For me this has been a blessing and a curse as being mainly a media composer I
spend most of the time recording myself. This means that I end up having to set the sound using headphones and I have had quite a few mishaps. The good news is that most mistakes have been happy ones with distorted electric guitar being the only thing that doesnt take well to a bit of drive from the pre.
The other problem I have had is that my vocal mic is an SE Gemini which is a valve driven beast that is much more suited to a cleaner pre as there is too much harmonic distortion going on with the 610. The tops become a bit out of control and I have to insert an EQ to calm it down.
It is nice to be able to use the pre and comp independently
The 1176 is a must have. The only drawback of it being matched with the 610 is that
they are both capable of creating a lot of dirt,so things can get a bit out of hand if you
are not paying proper attention.
Overall though I love it and have hopefully got another one on the way.
Now I know not to over valve the chain and watch the gain,everything comes out sounding great

It's my favorite preamp in the studio, good pre with some valve distortion, for acoustic guitars and vocal is just perfect. That's why we can hear Chris Martin's vocal and Adele's vocal with so softness sound.

I have had my 6176 for 7 or 8 years now. I wanted to buy a chain of components that would create the widest range of popular sonic reproduction I could; based on the recording history of the music I am most passion about. The products I choose for my recording chain are:

Neumann U87 AI Large Diaphragm Condenser Mic

Universal Audio 6176 Channel Strip

RME Fireface 800 Audio Interface (use optic throughout)

RME HDSP 9652 52-Channel 24-Bit/96kHz PCI card

I Run Digital Performer (Now on a PC)

I write on a Yamaha XS 88 KEY Workstation

Hear my words...

I have never regretted my purchase of any component listed. The 6176 is everything I hoped it would be as a signature link in my recording chain.

I need to be honest… i picked up this gear because i read that Adele uses it. At the beginning i had some troubles doing the setup connecting the 6176 with my apollo. After the help of the people from support i understood that i was needing a microphone that could help to get the best of this gear. The people from support really kindly suggested me the Josephson and since then the results of my recordings are blowing me away. Really amazing. I think that this is an amazing piece of gear, but your really need to have the right tools. Not for the aficionado…. for the one trying to become a pro!

This unit would be an asset to anyone's sonic arsenal. There are channel strips with tube based overtones (which this has in spades), channel strips with transformer based overtones, and channel strips that pacify those who desire a pristine uncolored path. No one unit does it all, but this amazingly three dimensional tube preamp also has the benefit of being chained with THE desert island compressor, the 1176. If you are unfamiliar with this glorious piece of magic, just read any article about its fans who have used it on countless recordings, in all genres. I personally have used this unit for: vocals, guitars (acoust/elect) drum room, DI for bass-very delicious, dobro, mandolin, banjo, horn sections. It never disappoints. Enjoy!

A bit muddy as a PRE, but this can be fixed by replacing stock tubes, especially that guitar JJ one. Great fast attack/release compressor! Fabulous for anything if you feel the device and set all the levels right! Much quicker than LA-610, but also requires you to have minimum attack/release understanding to start using it properly. It has a very musical tone and when coupled with the right microphone/converter gives a great result! I love the join/split feature and it has one of the biggest displays of all similar units. I love it and I dont want to let it go ever!

The 6176 has been my go-to vocal recording box since my original purchase in 2003 (I have serial number 349). It's clean, but not pristine or boring. The 1176 portion is classic and helps when tracking as well as mixing. I may add other favors, but I'll never, ever stop using my favorite vocal recording pre amp, the 6176.

just amazing! what's in your head comes out through it, with more effort and character, things that you normally don't get from a machine, 'coz the 6176 is a human way of thinking, well I'd say ...of sounding!

Wow, what sonic joy! I recorded a Strat direct to a track using the 6176. I sent that out to a Rivera Quiana, tweaked the sound at the amp, set up an AT 4033 in the sweet spot, plugged the mic into the 6176 then recorded that to another track. Great sound and so much fun! I would buy it again in a heartbeat. Thanks UA for making great products.

Dear Uaudio,
I purchased the 6176 as part of the deal which included the UAD-2 Quad card. I use a Mindprint DTC and Vintech X73i for audio tracking at present. The 6176 is just better as a single channel. I love the EQs on the Mindprint and the X73i, but the combination of the mic pre and 1176 compressor on the 6176 just is better for a class sound and fast workflow when tracking. That said, I can take the outs from the other strips into the compressor of the 6176 with ease.
The 6176 is top top class sound equipment- a make everything sound better box. A Rolls Royce in my project studio. Result!